The price is certainly higher for Westerners, but it is still generally affordable for most middle class families, it's not more than a good lawyer is going to cost. The brother of a friend of mine was caught in Costa Rica with a bunch of drugs about ten years ago, it cost his parents around $25K to get him out.
In Turkey, the local police in Dyabakir caught me with a beautiful long-slide .45. After the prerequisite chi drinking and a call to the Turkish base commander, I exchanged dollars for Turkish lire (Turks loved the stability of the dollar). I lost on the deal and gave up my .45 (foreigners are not permitted weapons), but it wasn't Midnight Express either.